Holidays with the Halliwells
by charmed1s-halliwells
Summary: Holiday fic. Halliwell children. Halloween monsters, Christmas presents. Valentines day with cooties and a father. Up now, the young Halliwells decide it will be fun if everyone turned into their halloween costumes.
1. The Monster Under the Bed

**The Monster Under the Bed**

Five year old Chris Halliwell didn't like to ask anyone for help. He was already five years old, a whole hand! He didn't always need his mommy and daddy for every little thing. He wasn't a baby anymore. His cousin Prue was a baby, and babies didn't have much fun. Chris admitted that he didn't know everything, of course. He was still too young for that. That was what his big brother Wyatt was for. Wyatt was 7 whole years old, which meant that he knew everything. Whenever there was something that Chris didn't know, he would ask his big brother.

Tonight was the most magical night of the year, Halloween. He had been looking forward to Halloween since he was only four. His mommy picked out the coolest space man outfit for him to wear. Chris had put it on the moment he got home from kindergarten, and he never wanted to take it off. Wyatt was going to be a cowboy, with a special cowboy hat and everything! Last year, the only Halloween he could remember, he had been sick. That's why he wanted this year's trick-or-treating to be the best ever.

Everyone in his family was going trick or treating. Even Prue was going, and she couldn't walk yet. Auntie Phoebe had bought her a pretty princess costume, and she was going to push her in her carriage. Auntie Paige was coming too. Auntie Paige was going to have a baby. She told Chris that the baby lived in her belly. Chris asked her time and time again how it was going to come out. Auntie Paige refused to answer him. The only bad thing was that his daddy wasn't coming. Chris hardly ever saw his daddy anymore.

They weren't aloud to go out until Chris' mommy came home from work. That's why, for the past 30 minutes, Wyatt and Chris stood by the window, in their costumes and ready to go. Prue was sitting on Auntie Phoebe's lap, also in her costume, while Phoebe talked to Aunt Paige. They were talking grown-up talk, so Chris and Wyatt didn't bother listening. "We get lots of candy, right Wy?" Chris asked for the millionth time that night.

"Millions of bags full", Wyatt said confidently. Chris looked at his older brother in awe. Of course, whatever Wyatt said was most definitely true. "Mom's home!" Wyatt said excitedly. Sure enough, Chris' mom's car pulled into the driveway. "MOMMY!" Chris squealed! He was so excited. Prue crawled to the window, always anxious to do what her cousins were doing. She babbled incomprehensible baby talk as Piper approached the door, her arm full of bags.

She smiled at Chris, Wyatt and Prue, just like she always did. "I got all of this candy to give to all my trick-or-treaters", Piper explained. Chris ran up to her and gave her a big hug, and a sloppy wet kiss. "I love you mommy!" Chris said. Piper just chuckled and muttered something about candy. True to her word, 5 minutes after Piper got home, the whole family was ready to go. As long as the Wyatt and Chris promised to stay close, their mommy let them walk a little bit ahead.

While their mommy walked slowly through Prescott St. talking to her sisters and pushing Prue in her carriage, Wyatt and Chris raced from house to house, giggling at each additional piece of candy. An hour had passed, and everyone was very tired. Auntie Paige sat down on the bench, her hands over her stomach. "Patty's tired, and so am I" she said stifling a yawn, referring to her unborn child with the name she had already chosen.

"Wyatt, Chris", their mommy called, "come here and sit." Wyatt and Chris were graciously accepting candy from their elderly neighbour Mrs. Wilkins, when they sadly walked back to their mother.

"We want more candy", Wyatt whined.

"We weren't finished trick-and-treating!" Wyatt complained.

"Mo!" Prue shrieked, clapping her pudgy hands together. She always wanted to be just like her big cousins.

"We'll rest for fifteen minutes, and then we'll trick-or-treat for fifteen minutes more", Phoebe said in an exasperated tone of voice. Wyatt and Chris were going to argue but their mommy gave them a look that said if you say another word; you'll get a time out. Wyatt sat down on the bench beside the one where his mother was sitting. Chris sat down beside him. "You want to hear a story?" Wyatt asked, a mischievous twinkle in his light blue eyes. Chris nodded eagerly.

"Okay, so you know how mommy says that there are make believe monsters, and then real ones that are in the book in the attic?" Wyatt asked

"Yup!" Chris replied proudly, feeling just as smart as his big brother.

"Well, this story is about a real monster that only comes out on Halloween night. He's really big, and green…and he has shinny yellow eyes! Ya, and he lives under your bed. His favourite food is little children!" Wyatt said, trying to make his voice sound all spooky. Chris looked at Wyatt, his bright green eyes wide, and his naturally pale face even paler. Then, he remembered what his mommy and his aunty told him about the real monsters.

"If the monster is real", Chris said slowly, "Mommy and the aunties will vanik…vanqua…they'll kill it!" Wyatt looked at where his mom and aunts were sitting, still talking grown-up talk. When he was sure they couldn't hear he whispered, " It's too powerful for them to vanquish, and if you tell them about it, it'll get them." Of course Chris believed him without question. Why would his big brother lie to him?

Just as Piper had promised, after 15 minutes, they began to trick or treat again. Wyatt ran to the doors once again with his old enthusiasm. Chris was strangely quiet. "What's wrong buddy?" Chris' favourite Auntie Paige asked him. Chris looked into her liquid brown eyes wishing he could tell her. He would never tell her, because he would be very sad if the monster got her. "Nothing's wrong", Chris mumbled. He stayed quiet until they got back to the manor. "I'm going to go to my room", Chris said quietly. Wyatt was happily going through his bags of candy. Piper found it strange that her youngest son didn't want any candy, but she didn't want to push him.

Chris sat on his bed, with all of the lights on, hugging his favourite teddy bear Mr. Fuzzy close to his chest. _You're not real, go away. You're not real, go away. _Chris repeated that to himself over and over again. His mommy told him to say that to all of the monsters in his dreams, and they would go away. Chris concentrated on his door, and it slammed shut. If there was really a monster in here, he didn't want his mommy, his aunties, Wyatt, or even Prue getting hurt. He heard the sounds of other people going upstairs into their room. It was time for bed, when Wyatt said the monster would come out.

His head hanging low, he turned on his night-light, and turned off the light. He sat in the darkness, clutching his teddy bear closer to his body. Chris stared into the semi-darkness, jumping at each shadow, cringing at each strange sound. He felt like someone was watching. He told himself that he was being silly. Real monsters don't live under beds. Just in case, he leaned over, so he could see under his bed. At first, he saw the dark void there that he always did. Then, out of the darkness appeared to bright yellow eyes.

"Wyatt", Chris whispered. Usually his brother was able to hear him. He waited for Wyatt to orb in, but nothing happened. He didn't want to admit that he was scared, because only babies were scared. One time, Chris killed a demon all by himself. His daddy was there, and called him such a big boy. Wyatt could always be brave around the real monsters. Chris wanted to be just like Wyatt. Chris was so scared that he was trembling. He knew what he had to do.

Slowly, he got off the bed. He knelt down so slowly, so deliberately, that it was almost as if he was searching for a chance to back down. Finally, he was kneeling completely beside his bed. He still saw the shinning yellow eyes, staring at him menacingly. They were almost mocking him, daring him to explore further. Cautiously, slowly, he put his small trembling hand under his bed. His wrist was grabbed almost instantly. He tried to pull it free, but he couldn't. He tried to scream, but nothing happened. He was crying now, something he never did.

Wyatt had fallen into a troubled sleep, right after he had eaten all the candy he could. Maybe it was all the candy that was making his tummy hurt, or maybe Wyatt was feeling bad about the story he had told Chris. It was really mean to scare his brother. Wyatt knew that Chris believed everything that he said. Now his brother was having just as much trouble sleeping as he was. Great now he was feeling…what had his mom called it? Guilty, that was how he was feeling. Wyatt sat bolt upright, feeling a shot of pain in his midsection. Chris was in trouble, he just knew it.

Wyatt orbed into his brothers room, but he didn't see Chris anywhere. All he saw was an empty bed. He heard a muffled sort of yelling. If that was coming from where he thought it was coming from, Wyatt knew that he had eaten too much candy. "Chris?" Wyatt said in confusion. There was no answer. Wyatt looked under the bed, and saw a brilliant flash of white light. He knew Chris was under there, and he knew what he had to do.

He held out his arms, just as his aunt Paige had taught him. "Chris", he said loudly and clearly. A stream of orbs came from under the bed, into Wyatt's arms, and formed into Chris. It was lucky that Wyatt was so much larger than his brother, or he would never have been able to hold him. Chris was hurt; he had a big wound in his chest. Gently, Wyatt put him down, and placed a glowing healing hand over him. Chris' eyes fluttered opened, and he stared wide eyed at his big brother.

"Did I get the monster?" Chris asked.

"Not yet", Wyatt said gently, "I'll get him for you." Wyatt said. Wyatt liked to protect his little brother from the real monsters. Wyatt stood in front of the bed and said, "Come out you big ugly monster! Come out and get me!" Wyatt was acting much braver than he really felt. He had to be brave in front of Chris. There was a rumbling sound, and a lime green blob with great bulbous yellow eyes squeezed itself from under Chris' small bed. Wyatt was still scared, but he was also angry that the demon tried to hurt his little brother.

"You can't hurt Chris! I won't let you!" Wyatt yelled. He felt great amounts of power coursing through him. Light shot out of his palms, and straight at the monster. The monster shrieked, although it didn't have a mouth. It writhed around in pain, until, in a puff of smoke, it was gone. Wyatt picked his brother up, a miraculous feat for someone his age, and placed him on the bed. Then he sat down beside him.

"Is it gone?" Chris asked. He found Wyatt's hand and held it tight.

"Of course it's gone. I'll always be here for you buddy. You know that", Wyatt said soothingly.

"I'll always be there for you to Wyatt. I love you", Chris replied. There was silence, and Chris held Mr. Fuzzy closer to him. He knew that the monster was gone, but hew was still a little scared. Of course, he would never till Wyatt that. Wyatt got up from the bed, and started to tiptoe towards the door. A surge of panic shot through his him. He didn't want to tell Wyatt how he felt, but he didn't want to be alone.

"Wyatt, will you stay with me?" Chris asked softly. Wyatt ran back and jumped into the bed.

"Of course I'll stay little bro, I thought you'd never ask", Wyatt said with a smile. Chris rolled over, feeling so calm inside, perfectly at peace. All of his fear just disappeared. The real monsters never scared him when his big brother was there to protect him…

At about midnight on Halloween night, Piper Halliwell and Leo Wyatt stood outside the door of the room of their youngest son. Wyatt was there too, fast asleep, with his arm around her little brother. Chris was also off in dreamland, his mouth slightly open. Piper smiled at the sight of her two boys together.

"What do you think happened?" Leo wondered.

Piper sighed, and put her arm around her husband. "I don't think it matters", Piper said with a smile. "We did good with those kids didn't we", Piper said to her husband.

" Of course we did", Leo said, pulling Piper close and kissing her passionately. "Happy Halloween."


	2. A Present for Prudence

**Chapter 2: A Present for Prudence**

**A/N: Well…I've decided to turn this into a series. I was just inspired by Christmas, and I had nothing better to do. You can expect a valentines day story if many people review. I already have an idea. I don't own Charmed. Enjoy the story. It's set 2 or so years after the Halloween one.**

Prue was only three, but already, she was as impatient as her mother. Christmas was coming, and for Prue, it couldn't come fast enough. She didn't know a lot of things, but she knew that Christmas meant presents. Her mother and her aunts had bought her presents. Even though they were hidden, Prue knew exactly where they were.

Her mother, Phoebe Halliwell, had never been great at keeping secrets. It wasn't anything Phoebe had said, however, that gave away where the presents were. Prue had heard her mother's thoughts about where she had hidden the presents. Prue could hear people's thoughts. That was one of the special things she could do.

Everyone in her family could do special things sort of like that. So, in her family, it wasn't exactly special. Prue could also feel what other people were feeling. Some thought hearing what people think would be cool. Prue just thought it was boring. Her nine year old cousin Wyatt and her 7 year old cousin Chris had millions of cool powers. Even her little cousin Patty, who was barely two could do cool things. Now, she loved her powers, cause they let her know something her cousins didn't know.

There were only three more days until Christmas, but to Prue, that seemed like forever. She needed to see her presents. The trick was to do it without Chris or Wyatt noticing. If they knew where the presents were, they would want to see them too. Her aunt Piper, who was watching all of the children for the afternoon, couldn't find out either.

Prue made her way down the stairs one at a time. She saw her aunt Piper and her cousin Patty still in the kitchen. Aunt Piper was in the kitchen practically all day. She was cooking a really big meal. She did that a lot. Aunt Piper wanted to make a giant Christmas dinner. Her mommy and Aunt Paige couldn't cook non-gross things, so Aunt Piper was in charge of the cooking.

Wyatt and Chris were in the living room. They were playing this stupid game that they had invented. They played that game practically all the time. Prue didn't really think it was stupid, but she didn't like that she couldn't play. They were making there toy cars float in the air and smash into each other. It was the type of game boys played.

Wyatt made his red car smash into Chris' blue one, and the younger boy's fell to the floor.

"I win!" Wyatt exclaimed. Those boys could be so silly sometimes. Chris frowned at his brother.

"Best two out of three", said Chris. Wyatt shrugged and both boys waved their arms and caused their cars to begin smashing again. They were so busy they didn't even notice Prue. Normally this would have made her mad, but today it was exactly what she wanted. She made her way past the glowing Christmas tree, and the front hallway, expertly decorated the day before.

The presents were on top of the closet in Aunt Piper and Uncle Leo's room. She scurried up the stairs, her excitement getting the better of her. This was much easier than she thought it would be. Prue could see her presents, and no one would ever know.

She got into Aunt Piper and Uncle Leo's room and closed the door behind her. She got into the closet easily because it was really big. It was almost as big as her room. Looking around, she saw only clothes and shoes. Prue was positive that her mother had put the presents in the closet. Prue tilted her head up, which was when she saw them.

Along the top of the closet, dozens of presents were lined up in a neat row. They were all brightly wrapped with pretty bows on top. She scanned the presents to find which one was hers. It was no use. Even if she could see the labels, she couldn't read. She couldn't even get to the presents.

If only Wyatt or Chris were here. They would be able to get the presents with their powers. She couldn't ask them to help her though. They would just look at their presents and she would be left out. She was always left out. There was no way Prue could reach those presents by her self. She stood on tip toe, but it made no difference.

The presents were just too high up. She looked around the closet, searching for something that would make her taller. There were a bunch of empty shoe boxes around the closet. Prue gathered the boxes and stacked them. She tried climbing on top of them, but they crumpled to the floor.

It wasn't working! Prue had been sure that it would work. Now there was no way she could see her present. Prue reached way up high, but that was pointless. She stomped her foot in frustration. Prue gasped as her feet lifted above the ground. She was floating upwards, and she stopped when her face was level with the presents.

Prue looked down at the ground many feet bellow her. She couldn't believe it! She had finally gotten a cool power. She really liked this whole flying thing. It was so exciting, and so fun. This was just what her mom could do. She forgot what it was called…levit…something. All she knew was that it helped her get the presents.

The first present she saw was fairly large, wrapped in silver paper. The label said something that started with a W. Wyatt started with a W, so that must be for him. She looked at the two presents next to it. They weren't for her; at least she didn't think so.

There were more presents, but she couldn't reach them. She tried moving sideways, but she couldn't. Maybe her new power only went up. She started to think that this wasn't such a good idea. She tried to get down, but Prue couldn't go down. She didn't know how to.

She was panicking now. How do you work this stupid power? She didn't even know how she got up. Prue tried just imagining herself down, hoping it would work. Nothing happened, and she continued to hover.

Her mommy always told her that if something scary and magical happened, she should call for an adult. If she called for her Aunt Piper, she would come running. Prue wasn't sure she wanted Aunt Piper to come running. Aunt Piper would be angry to see that Prue was in the closet. She didn't like to make Aunt Piper mad.

She would just have to get down all by herself. She was three whole years old. That wasn't a baby. It was kinda scaring her, being up so high. She held onto the edge of the closet. That made her feel a little better.

She tried to think, but that was sort of hard. The ground was very far bellow her. Her head was brushing against the ceiling. Her mommy said that sometimes, to use their powers, all you had to do was concentrate. She screwed up her face in concentration. Nothing happened.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if her Aunt Piper found her in here. Her aunt would surely be more worried about her safety than where she was. She then remembered that time when she had accidentally on purpose broken her Aunt Piper's favorite plate. Her aunt was really angry then.

Pure remembered something else she could do when she was in danger. Her mother told her that she must only do this in a real emergency. Being this high up sure was scary. She thought it counted as an emergency. Uncle Leo was a – well she forgot what it was called, but it was his job to protect his family. If she called, he would come.

It was the only thing she could do. She was getting tired of this floating. "Uncle Leo", Prue whispered. Her uncle appeared in a swirl of sparkly blue things. He looked around the closet, but he didn't see her.

"Prue?" he asked in confusion.

"Up here", she answered, still whispering. She still didn't want anyone else to find her. He looked up and his eyes went wide.

"How'd you get up there and what's up with all the whispering?" Leo asked kindly.

Still whispering, Prue answered, " I wanted to look at the presents and I kind of floated."

"I see", Leo said thoughtfully. " I'm very proud that you learned this cool new thing, but do you think that it was nice to try to look at the presents before Christmas?"

Prue hung her head. Uncle Leo always knew what to say to make you feel bad but not be mean. Leo floated up and took Prue in his arms. "When I take you down, I'm going to call your mom, and you're going to tell her what happened", Leo said gently.

"Okay", Prue whispered softly. She didn't really want Uncle Leo to call her mom. Her mom might be mad. The only way Leo would take her down, though, was for her to agree.

With Prue in his arms, Leo slowly descended to the ground. They walked down the stairs. Wyatt and Chris were still playing their silly car smashing game. She scowled at them, and they scowled back at her. Boys are stupid!

Uncle Leo led her to the kitchen where Aunt Piper still was. " Where'd you orb of to?" Aunt Piper asked playfully.

"Prue needed me", he explained, "I'll tell you about it after Phoebe has a talk with her." Piper nodded, and went back to her cooking. Uncle Leo took the phone and began dialing. Prue listened as her uncle spoke to her mother."

"Hi. Nothing's wrong. You need to come home. No, no demons. You need to talk to Prue. She's fine. Okay. See you soon. Bye."

She heard only her uncle's side of the conversation. It didn't make much sense to her. Prue knew that her mother was on the way home. So she sat in the kitchen, and she waited.

Moments later, she heard a key turn in the lock. Forgetting that her mother might be mad, she ran to the door. "Mommy!" she yelled. Her mother opened her arms. "Come on my ladybug, tell me what happened", Phoebe said kindly. Prue stopped in her tracks, suddenly afraid that her mom would be mad.

She felt herself floating high into the air. Oh no, it was happening again. Her mom floated up so she was level with her. She took her hands and gently guided her until her feet touched the ground. "Was that what happened?" her mother asked softly. Prue felt her cheeks turn red.

"Sort of", she said. She had to tell her mom the truth. "I looked at the Christmas presents. I'm sorry." She hoped that her mom wouldn't be mad.

"I'm not mad", said Phoebe. As always, her mother knew what she was thinking and how she was feeling. Phoebe continued, "As long as you know that that wasn't a good thing to do."

"I know", Prue said. Her mother sat down on the couch, and Prue sat in her lap. She could tell that her mother didn't feel anger, only love. "I love you mommy", Prue said earnestly.

Her mother smiled at her. Prue could feel the love radiating from her mother. Phoebe said, she smiling, " I love you too ladybug."


	3. The Truth About Valentines Day

**Chapter 3: The Truth About Valentines Day**

**A/N: Happy Valentine's Day all! Hope you enjoy the fic. Chris is 8, Wyatt's 9...and i think Prue is 5. I think it's sort of bitter sweer. Hope you enjoy. Read and Review. I think the next one will be about April Fools. **

Recess was Chris Halliwell's favourite time of the day. It was the only time he got to play anymore. He was in 3rd grade, which meant that they didn't get much chance to play in class. At recess, Chris and his friends would play soccer and go on the playground. It was always a lot of fun.

Today it was more fun then usual. It was Valentines Day, which to Chris meant only one thing: candy. They got loads of it, and lots of cool cards too. Instead of work, which was what they usually did in class, they had a party. They played game and had lots of food. There were only two things that Chris didn't like about Valentine's Day.

One thing was that his mother made him wear the red sweater she had made for him. It was ugly and itchy. He didn't like it at all. The thing that Chris disliked most about Valentine's day was the girls. They were all so giggly. They would talk about which boys were cute. Then they would try to kiss you. The whole thing was just creepy.

Girls just seemed creepier and creepier the older he got. He was only 8, and already girls were a mystery to him. Chris would never understand the attraction to playing with dolls. Another thing he didn't understand was all the giggling. He used to play with girls at recess, but not as many anymore. Most girls didn't like the games he liked.

Chris still played with some girls. Ashley and Tina were both really good at soccer, and he liked playing with them. They played with him and his guy friends all the time. Valentine's Day was the only day they didn't want to play. Chris couldn't understand why.

He went up to them to ask them about us. "Why don't you want to play?" he asked, "It'll be really fun."

In response, Ashley stuck out her tongue, and Tina giggled. "Boys have cooties!" Tina shrieked. Then they both ran away, and joined a group of other girls playing hopscotch. Chris walked away bewildered. He went back to the soccer field to return to the game. Chris didn't feel much like playing anymore. He was too confused.

His friend George was waiting for him when he got back. "What's up?" George asked his friend. Chris furrowed his brow in concentration trying to find words to describe his confusion.

"George, what are cooties?" Chris asked finally.

It looked like George was going to laugh at him, but Chris' friend was patient. He explained, "It's what girls have. You can catch them. It's what makes them so icky." Chris' eyes widened in understanding. Suddenly the mystery of girls became suddenly clear to him. He now understood why they were so icky.

With a smile, he went back to the game of soccer.

Prue sat up straight in Mrs. Green's kindergarten classroom, listening attentively. She loved going to school. It was fun to learn new things and play with the other children. Since she had started school, she had also made many new friends. She loved to play in the doll house with the other girls.

One of her favourite parts of school was story time. They would all sit on the carpet in a circle and listen as the teacher told a story. Today the story was about Valentine's Day. It was a day of candy and fun. More importantly, it was a day of love. That's what the story said. It was a love between friends, between parents and children, between mommies and daddies.

After the story it was time for colouring. Mrs. Green told them to color a picture of the people they loved. It could be of their family and friends. Prue started with a picture of her mommy. She drew her mommies face with the peach crayon. She drew her mommy a pink dress, and brown hair. When she finished her mommy, she noticed that most people's pictures had daddies. She didn't have a daddy.

Usually, she didn't mind that she didn't have a daddy. She had never had one, so it didn't matter that much. Still, she noticed how everyone else seemed to have a daddy. Nicole, Bethany, Veronica and all her other friends had daddies. Her cousins Wyatt, Chris and Patty had a daddy. Her mommy never even mentioned a daddy.

Prue loved her mommy very much. Her mommy was the one who took care of her when she was sick. Her mommy tucked her in at night, baked her cookies, and taught her how to use magic. Still, she'd really love to have a daddy. One time, Wyatt told her about all the things you can do with spells. The only spell she wanted to know was one to help her find a daddy.

Prue gasped as her mind was filled with the image of a man. Her mommy called it…a perm…premi…well; Prue didn't know how to say it. It was what happened when she saw things from the future, and sometimes the present and past. This man was tall, and he had dark hair. His eyes were brown and full of laughter. Prue could feel love from this man, as if he were real. Somehow, she knew he was his daddy.

Phoebe went to pick up her daughter and her nephews from school as she usually did. Wyatt was as cheerful and talkative as he ever was. Chris and Prue were unusually quiet. There was something wrong with them, and Phoebe didn't need to be an empath to know that. She took Chris and Prue by the hand and led them to the car. Wyatt followed, claiming that hand holding was icky.

As she helped Prue into her seat, she saw her daughter look out the window with a distant look in her eyes. "Sweetie, what's wrong?" she asked quietly as Wyatt and Chris got into their seats. Prue looked at her, and Phoebe was surprised to see tears in her big brown eyes.

"I saw my daddy", Prue whispered.

Phoebe felt as if all the wind had been knocked out of her. She had no idea where that had come from. Never had she mentioned Prue's father to her. She knew that there would be a day that Prue would finally ask. She had never expected it to come so soon, or in this fashion. Phoebe opened her mouth, and abruptly closed it.

When she found her voice she said, "We'll talk later." She didn't want to have such an important discussion in the car when they needed to get home. Prue was silent again. Phoebe began to drive, and noticed that Chris was acting differently as well. She would let Piper and Leo deal with that one. She could only handle one crisis at a time.

The ten minute drive home seemed to take ten years. In her mind, she went over what she would say to Prue. It was very difficult to find the words to explain this to a child. What had happened between Prue's father and her had just been so complicated. How could you explain to a child about demons, and forbidden love, and destiny?

She didn't really have long to think. They were home in ten minutes, as they always were. They all got out of the car as if nothing had happened. Wyatt was the only one who was acting like himself. Chris looked a little more jumpy than usual. He seemed to be avoiding Prue for some reason. Phoebe didn't even want to think about that one. Let Piper deal with that one.

Wyatt burst through the door with a cheerful hello to his mother. He was the only one who had done so. Chris walked in with a puzzled expression on his face. Prue walked in with her head down, looking very sad. Piper came out of the kitchen to greet her sons. She had to practically drag Chris so he would follow her. He was almost rooted to the spot.

When Piper, Chris and Wyatt were in the kitchen, Phoebe heard Chris say, "Mommy, what's cooties?"

Phoebe nearly laughed out loud when she heard this. Chris was so cute sometimes. Her serious mood returned as she remembered the question Prue had asked her. "Prue, let's sit down", she said with a sigh. She sat down on the sofa, and Prue sat down beside her.

Phoebe reached into a purse, and pulled out a photo she always carried with her. It was a picture of her and Cole right after they had met. They were both smiling. Phoebe remembered how happy they had been in that time. The photo was crumpled, because of the many times she had looked at it. She showed the picture to Prue.

"That's my daddy!" Prue exclaimed, "I saw him in my vision." Phoebe smile weekly at her.

"Yes, that is your daddy", Phoebe said. "Let me tell you about him." Prue snuggled close to her mother. Her mommy was going to tell her a story. She loved when her mommy told her stories.

"We met a very long time ago", Phoebe began, "Remember when I told you about demons? I told how they're bad guy?" Prue nodded mutely. She knew all this already. Phoebe continued, "Your daddy's name was Cole, and he used to be one of them. When we met, he became good because he loved me, and he loved you."

Phoebe didn't know how to continue. After that point, it was so complicated. She didn't know how to finish her story. She wasn't sure about how to tell Prue about the times that Cole had gone back to evil and tried to kill her. She couldn't articulate how she had still loved him, even all through that. It was hard to explain that when he had come back completely human, she had fallen in love with him all over again. The most difficult was how he was killed by demons while she was pregnant with Prue.

" He turned into a regular person for us. He loved us so much that he would do anything for us. He was good and kind and gentle…" Phoebe said. She found that she couldn't continue. She felt hot tears forming in the corner of her eyes. Her throat burned so much that it ached. She missed Cole, more than she ever told anyone.

Prue looked thoughtful. "What happened to him?" she asked curiously.

Her throat still burning, she replied the only way she could; with the truth. She said, "He died. The bad guys killed him, because he was trying to protect us."

Prue did not cry, although Phoebe did openly now. Prue had never known her father, so Phoebe understood. She hadn't talked about Cole in years. It had always been too painful. Now that she had talked about him, she missed him more than ever.

"It's going to be okay Mommy", Prue said earnestly, "He watches us still, and he loves us as much as he ever did. I love him too." Prue placed her tiny hand on her mother's, and Phoebe could tell that what she said was true. She didn't know how, but she knew it.

"Thanks ladybug", Phoebe said softly.

Prue smiled at Phoebe, showing off her missing front teeth. She looked so much like Cole. It brought a great joy to Phoebe's heart. "No problem", Prue said cheerfully. She jumped off the couch, and trotted out of the room.

At the doorway, she stopped. She gasped, and Phoebe recognized it as a premonition. When her daughter came out of the premonition a moment later, she wondered what she could have seen. Prue turned to look at her mother, who was looking quizzically at her. Her smile was wider than it had been before.

"Daddy said happy Valentine's Day", said Prue.


	4. Costumes Come Alive

**Chapter 4: Costumes Come Alive**

**A/n: I finally remembered this story! And just in time for it to be a year from the last one. So it's Halloween again, and Halloweens are fun with the Halliwells. I really intended to do more holidays. Maybe I will, maybe I won't. Anyways, enjoy this chapter, and don't worry if the ages of the kids don't make sense…I forgot them: P**

It was Halloween, the busiest day of year. At least, it was very busy for the Halliwell family. They were a magical family. Like many other magical families, they liked to go all out. The house had been decorated for weeks. It had always been known as the scariest house on the block (not only on Halloween) and the Halliwells liked to live up to that reputation on Halloween. They had turned their Victorian San Fransisco Manor house into a haunted house. And they did it all without the aid of magic.

Everyone got dressed up, from Patty, who was the youngest, to Leo, who was technically the oldest. It wasn't just any costumes they threw together. They all put a lot of effort into making their costumes look nice every year. Piper decided to embrace the stereotypes associated with being a witch. This year she would be the wicked witch of the west, green skin and all. Phoebe, who managed to look provocative no matter what she was wearing, had decided on a vampire costume. She had taken a few tips from the vampires they had fought. Paige was a black cat, complete with very realistic whiskers.

The four kids who lived in Halliwell manor loved Halloween just as much as t heir parents did. They started thinking about their costumes early in the summer. This year, they had all managed to be pretty creative. They youngest, Patty who was four, were a very cute puppy, to go with her mothers' cat costume. Her father had been very unoriginal and decided to wear his whitelighter robes. Prue was nearly 6, and she was a fairy. She got the ideas from the real fairies she had seen.

Brothers Chris and Wyatt had very ideas of what cool costumes were. Chris was 8, and his costumes consisted of a sheet with two holes, making him a ghost. Ten year old Wyatt had chosen to be a pirate, complete with eye patch, hat and sword. He was very proud of his costume. During the day on Halloween Wyatt had walked around the school saying "Argh matey!" to everyone. Most people thought it was cool, but Chris thought it was annoying. The brothers fought constantly, but they were really the best of friends.

There was one thing Chris and Wyatt agreed on. They really wanted their daddy to be there for Halloween. He was rarely there anymore. He missed a lot of things because he was and elder. When he was home, their mom and dad yelled at each other a lot. The worst part was the promises. Wyatt had stopped believing them long before Chris had. Leo always promised that he would be there for things like school concerts and birthdays. He never came. He had also promised to come for Halloween. Chris believed that he would, but Wyatt knew better.

There was one time of the day on Halloween that was always very hectic in the household. It was the time after school and before dinner. There was always so much to do. Things were always hectic in a house with 9 people, but this was a little much. The adults were busy with preparations for the night of trick or treating to come. The Charmed Ones didn't feel that bad about leaving their kids basically unsupervised. Wyatt was ten years old, and they were in the house. They figured that their kids didn't really get into much trouble. They were wrong.

While their cousins were playing Barbie's in the room they shared, Wyatt and Chris were in the attic. Technically, they weren't aloud to be in the attic unless an adult was around. This was really bothering Chris. He didn't like breaking rules. "Are you sure mom won't mind that we're in her?" Chris asked nervously.

Wyatt shrugged. He was flipping through the book of shadows. He felt much too grown up to be going trick or treating with his cousins. He wanted something cool to happen this Halloween. They had magic. Something cool should happen. He didn't care whether or not Chris wanted to help. "You can leave if you want", Wyatt said. He was still looking for something fun in the book.

Chris didn't leave, but he did look towards the door nervously. He would always stick by his brother, no matter what he did. Chris didn't think that Halloween was boring this way, but he was excited to do magic. Chris, his brother, and his cousins went to a class at magic school twice a week. That was Chris' favourite part of the day. Mostly he went to non magic school, and it wasn't as fun. He hated how they thought witches were ugly girls with green skin. Chris wasn't ugly, his skin wasn't green, and he definitely wasn't a girl.

Chris tried to look at the book over his brother's shoulder, but he had difficulty seeing because of the small eye holes in his costume. They kept moving, and he could only see directly in front of him. Wyatt was a pirate, and he had put his sword down when he started looking in the book. Wyatt had stopped telekinetically flipping the pages. That meant he had found a spell.

"So, what're we going to do?" Chris asked, trying to sound cool. In truth, he was terrified.

"You'll see lil bro", Wyatt said. He was starting to get excited. "This is going to be the coolest Halloween ever!" Chris nodded eagerly in agreement, even though he wasn't so sure.

At that moment, the attic door creaked open. Wyatt and Chris jumped into the air, thinking it was their mom, coming to yell at him. When two little girls walked into the room, they audibly sighed in relief. "What are you doing?" asked little Patty. Her hands were on her hips, and she had the same look on her face that her mother got when people misbehaved. She was tapping her foot impatiently, her puppy tail wagging as she did so.

"We're doing a spell to make Halloween cooler!" Wyatt said brightly. He knew exactly what to say to make his cousin not tell on him. Patty loved magic, and she loved being included in spells. Prue, however, still wasn't convinced. Like Chris, she felt uncomfortable about breaking the rules.

"You're not going to tell on us are you?" Wyatt said sweetly. He knew exactly the right thing to say. Prue hated when her cousins left her out. She sighed, and joined her cousins in crowding around the Book of Shadows. Her fairy costume glittered as she moved. Wyatt seemed very satisfied that his cousins would help him. This would be an interesting Halloween after all.

"Wyatt, I don't know what the spell says!" Patty whined. She didn't know how to read, and Prue couldn't read very well. The spell said that the spell would work on most people if there was more power behind the spell. Prue and Patty wanted to be included.

"Okay, make sure your costumes are on properly, then repeat after me", Wyatt said. Chris again adjusted his bed sheet so he could see properly. Patty picked up her tail, which had fallen off. Prue straightened her glittery wings, and Wyatt picked up his sword. Only Wyatt understood why they should be fixing their costumes. Chris and Prue were very worried that one of their parents would come up and find them. Wyatt and Patty were just very excited to be doing the spell.

"Repeat after me", Wyatt said again. His brother and his cousins nodded. They all held hands, so they would be using their powers equally for this spell. They were doing just as their mothers had taught them. None of them had ever done a spell on their own, and they wanted this one would be right. So may things could go wrong with a spell. For a moment, even Wyatt was nervous.

"The disguises they wear,

Of the creatures they fear,

Shall not be mere disguises,

When they put them on this year.

They will become what are scary,

No one will be wary.

You'd better run,

Halloween will be fun. "

With Wyatt's guidance, all four children finished the spell at the same time. Now that they had said it, they knew exactly what it was about. If they had done their spell right, until midnight, everyone would turn into their costumes. Even Chris had to admit that it was really cool. It would be fun to be a real ghost and scare people. Chris never managed to scare anyone. For a moment, they thought that nothing had happened, and the spell hadn't worked. Then after a moment, everyone was bathed in a golden light.

It covered everyone in the attic. Then it moved through the house. The golden light poured out the window, and hit everyone in the neighborhood. There was no noise as the gold dust was upon them. Then gradually, everyone began to change. Wyatt's fake beard became real, as did the hook on his hand. His eye patch wouldn't come off. Chris' body fell to the ground, and s transparent version of himself rose from his body. Prue shrank, and became a real live fairy. Patty grew fur all over her body until she was an actual puppy.

Not only were the Halliwell children in the attic becoming their costumes. The same thing was happening to children and adults alike all around the neighborhood. The transformations all took no more than a moment. Then all hell broke loose. All over San Francisco, there were real live zombies, and real live werewolves. Creatures roamed free on the streets, doing what they would have done if they were real.

Chris was the only one who seemed to have retained his mental powers. He was merely an actual ghost. He was panicking. He didn't know what to do. "Wyatt…what did we do?" He asked in a panic. He was almost crying. Wyatt….or more accurately, the person who was formerly his brother turned to look at him. It wasn't Wyatt that Chris saw, but an actual pirate.

"Argh", the pirate said, "who be Wyatt? I be Long John Silver! Why I be talking to yee? Time fer some pilagin'" They pirate said. He brandished his sword at his brother, who backed away in fear. He tried to throw the sword away with his mind, but it didn't work. He guessed his powers didn't work as a ghost. Wyatt took a swipe at him with the sword, but it went right through him. He guessed he really was a ghost. That must mean his body on the floor was actually dead.

The glittering fairy that was now Prue flitted around the attic. Patty, who made a very cute puppy, was chasing her tail. Chris was panicking. He didn't know what to do. More than anything, he wanted his mommy. He wasn't good at doing things all by himself. When he remembered what his mommy was dressed up as, he changed his mind. She was dressed up as a witch, which wasn't really a costume, only his mom was dressed as the scary green skinned kind of a witch.

He looked out the small attic window to the street bellow. Wyatt had already run out into the street to join the chaos bellow. Chris wasn't letting the dog that was Patty or the fairy that was Prue out of his sight. He was bigger than them, so it was his job to keep an eye on him. He had to think of something to do, it was his only hope. He floated straight through the attic door, and down the stairs, the dog and the fairy following close behind him.

He saw a black cat run by his feet, and Patty growled at it a little. That must be Aunt Paige. He tried to hold Patty back, but then he remembered that he was a ghost. Okay, so Aunt Paige's costume hadn't made her so scary. His mother and Aunt Phoebe's costumes, however, were very scary. He saw his aunt Phoebe at the door. If he weren't a ghost, he would have probably screamed. Aunt Phoebe was a real live vampire. She was just like the ones Chris had seen when he was younger.

"Need some blood!" She cackled. Chris didn't like this, not at all. He half wanted to go back to the attic. In a puff of black smoke, his aunt Phoebe turned into a bat and flew out the window. This was a little much for young Chris. He ran upstairs to the attic, where he was relatively safe. He still hadn't seen his mother, but he really didn't want to. She reminded him of the wicked witch of the west in the wizard of oz. That always scared him.

When he got to the attic, he looked out the window again. He saw lots of people, especially grown ups that were running. They were also screaming. There were horrifying monsters running all around. The worst was that he knew that they were children just like him. He was glad he hadn't started trick or treating yet. He didn't want to be out there. He was about to get the book of shadows so he could find some way to fix this when he finally saw his mother at last. She was just as scary as he thought.

She was sitting on broomstick, which was hovering right outside the window. Her face was really green, and her teen were really pointed. She cackled, since she saw him there in the window. "I'll get you my pretty and your little dog too!" she shrieked before flying higher, right passed the moon. Chris didn't really understand what she meant, since he didn't have a dog. It was still very scary.

He had to find something, anything to fix it. He found the book of Shadows right where Wyatt left it, only there was one problem. He couldn't touch it. Being a ghost, he couldn't touch solid objects. Only ghosts who have been ghosts for a long time could touch solid objects. His mommy also told him that ghosts could move things if they were very angry. Maybe, if he got angry, he'd be able to move the pages.

Chris tried to concentrate on things that made him angry. Maybe then he'd be able to turn the pages. He concentrated on his brother, who always made him mad, or on his dad. That made it work. His dad was supposed to be there, and his dad would be capable of helping him. Chris began to get very angry. The pages began to move of their own accord. They flew in the wind he had created, not looking like they would ever stop. Meanwhile, the dog that was Patty chased her tail by his feet.

He stopped thinking about his dad, and immediately, the pages stopped turning. It landed on the same spell they had used earlier, the one that had started this whole mess. Only, there was something on the page adjacent that Chris had previously not noticed. It was kind of small, like the fine print that nobody ever saw. He floated closer so he could see what it said. As he suspected, it was related to the spell that had caused all this. He read it twice, just to make sure he was reading it correctly.

It was sort of a loophole in the spell they had read. The spell would work only before midnight on Halloween. So, all he had to do if he wanted the spell to stop was make it after midnight. He knew that spell! It was the one they had learned at magic school the previous week. He could fix this all by himself. Chris had a fantasy of being the one who made things better, the one who saved the day, instead of Wyatt.

"Winds of time gather round,

Lift me up to speed my way.

Send me on my journey forward.

Let tomorrow be today."

There was a swirl of colours…many colours all around. It was working. The clocks moved forward all at once. When Chris could see properly again, it was 12:01. He had done it. Patty was no longer a dog, only in a costume. Prue wasn't a fairy, and Wyatt wasn't a pirate. They were standing there in their costume, looking stunned. Then they all started talking at once. "Whoa, I didn't know what I was doing." I couldn't remember what I did." "That was so weird."

Wyatt looked at Chris, who was no longer a ghost, but a kid in a bed sheet. Wyatt shouldn't have done that spell. It had ruined everything. Most of all, he had ruined Halloween for his little brother. He couldn't control what he was doing, but he remembered all of it. He had been really mean to Chris. He didn't mean it, but he still felt really bad about it.

"I'm sorry Chris", Wyatt said hanging his head. He felt really bad about everything that had happened. He couldn't look his brother in the eyes. "I'm sorry I ruined your Halloween."

Chris' face split into a wide grin. He wrapped his brother in a large hug, and the older boy returned it in shock. Chris wasn't happy about what his brother had done. It was stupid, and he was sure to get in trouble. He was very happy that it had been him who had saved the day. Usually Wyatt was the one with all the power, now it was him. He was very proud of himself, and rightfully so.

"Are you kidding?" Chris asked, still smiling. "This was the best Halloween ever!"


End file.
